Reham Rizk

Associate Professor, University of London

Reham Rizk is the Head of the Modelling Unit at the Egyptian Ministry of Planning and Economic Development and an Associate Professor of Economics in University of London and in the Master’s Program in Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University. She is also an Invited Researcher at J-PAL Middle East and North Africa at AUC, and the co-Founder and director of the Egypt Impact Lab, a collaboration between MPED and J-PAL that aims to strengthen the effectiveness of Egypt’s poverty reduction policies by rigorously evaluating promising and innovative government programs and a Research Fellow at the Economic Research Forum. Her current focus includes conducting an ongoing randomized evaluation of Unpacking Employment Support: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment with J-PAL MENA and constructing Egypt’s Multidimensional Poverty Index with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. Previously, she was an Associate Professor of Economics at the Universities of Canada in Egypt and the British University in Egypt. She was also a Research Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota and Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, University of Michigan. She served as Senior Economist at the Tahya-Misr Fund. She received my PhD and MA in Economics from Helwan University. Her work focuses on establishing sustainable partnerships between universities, government, and development practitioners to advance policy-driven research and foster effective planning for development initiatives promoting employment, microenterprise development, female empowerment, family development, education and health.

Drivers of educational inequality in Jordan during the pandemic

Education
Health care
February 21, 2023

Jordan had one of the most stringent lockdowns in response to Covid-19, with schools closed for long periods. As this column explains, the variation in children’s access to online learning has led to greater inequality in educational outcomes.

Inequalities in Jordan before and after the pandemic

Is Covid-19 increasing inequalities in Jordan? This column outlines the main findings of a new report on the impact of the pandemic on inequality in expenditure, incomes and educational opportunities and outcomes.

Inequality of income and education in Jordan

The global pandemic seems likely to result in greater inequality across multiple dimensions, including income, education, gender and geography. This column reports pre-crisis evidence from Jordan on the extent of income inequality, inequality in educational outcomes and inequality in educational opportunities. Proposed policy responses include investing in education; awareness campaigns; ensuring equal access to the internet and social security; subsidising school supplies conditional on parental income and wealth; and imposing stricter measures to combat child labour.

Economies of agglomeration and firm productivity in Egypt

There is a strong body of international evidence that firms are more productive when they cluster near one another geographically. This column reports new findings on the substantial productivity benefits of such agglomeration in Egypt. The results have important implications for policy, including the value of establishing specialised industrial zones for promising business clusters with high growth potential.

Since unemployment rates in Jordan are higher among young people and women than other groups, unemployment is commonly characterised as a youth and gender issue. However, the majority of the country’s unemployed are adults and men. This suggests that unemployment is primarily a macroeconomic issue challenge for the entire labour market. The appropriate response therefore is coordinated fiscal, monetary, structural and institutional policies, while more targeted measures can still benefit specific groups.

Tunisia’s energy transition: the key role of small businesses

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play a critical role in Tunisia’s economy, contributing significantly to GDP and employment. As this column explains, they are also essential for advancing the country’s ambitions to make a successful transition from reliance on fossil fuels to more widespread use of renewable energy sources. A fair distribution of the transition’s benefits across all regions and communities will secure a future where MSMEs thrive as leaders in a prosperous, inclusive and sustainable Tunisia.

The hidden potential of Jordan’s small firms for driving a green transition

For Jordan, a green transition represents an enormous transformative opportunity. But a decade-long increase in the use of renewable energy has not freed the country of its economic woes. This column explores the currently underused yet potentially powerful force of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises – and proposes policies that could improve the investment climate and clear legislative and regulatory barriers.

Global value chains and sustainable development

What is the role of exchange rate undervaluation in promoting participation in global value chains by firms in developing countries? What is the impact of the stringency of national environmental regulations on firms’ GVC participation? And how do firms’ political connections affect their participation in GVCs? These questions will be explored for the MENA region at a special session of the ERF annual conference, which takes place in Cairo in April 2025.

Adoption of decentralised solar energy: lessons from Palestinian households

The experience of Palestinian households offers a compelling case study of behavioural adaptation to energy poverty via solar water heater adoption. This column highlights the key barriers to solar energy adoption in terms of both the socio-economic status and dwellings of potential users. Policy-makers need to address these barriers to ensure a just and equitable transition, particularly for households in conflict-affected areas across the MENA region.

The Forum ERF

ERF